Future Chapter: [Mother's Ring‚ Daughter's Question]
A rainy afternoon.
Saya sat by the window‚ holding a cup of black tea and quietly gazing outside.
Next to her sat her daughter Mizuki‚ now a high school student.
Mizuki suddenly noticed the ring on Saya’s left hand.
“Hey‚ Mom. How long have you been wearing that ring?”
Saya smiled‚ looking a little surprised.
“It’s been quite a while. From back when Mom was still ‘crying on weekends.’”
Mizuki tilted her head.
“Crying on weekends?”
“Yes. When I was young‚ I was always waiting for someone. I was constantly anxious‚ wondering if they would contact me or if we could meet.”
“Was that… love?”
“Yeah. But that love ended. Quietly‚ but definitely.”
Saya gently stroked the ring.
“After that‚ someone said to me‚ ‘Let’s run to the sea.’ Without asking anything‚ without blaming me‚ he just stayed by my side.”
“Was that… Dad?”
“Yes. He gave me this ring. While saying‚ ‘It’s okay if it’s the first and the last.’”
Mizuki’s eyes were slightly moist.
“Mom‚ you’re so strong.”
“That’s not it. I didn’t become strong. I was able to walk because someone was by my side.”
After a moment of silence‚ Mizuki murmured softly.
“I wonder if the day will come when I’ll be waiting for someone too.”
“It probably will. But you know‚ Mizuki‚ it’s okay not to just wait—you can walk on your own.
Choosing someone yourself is far more wonderful than being chosen by someone.”
The wind swayed the curtains.
Saya took her daughter’s hand and smiled.
“This ring was the beginning of my weekends.
But now‚ it has become a story I can tell you.
So someday‚ you too‚ find your own ring.”
Mizuki nodded.
Then she looked at her mother’s ring once more.
It was not a memory of the past‚ but a light toward the future.
Special Chapter: [The Lantern That Arrived Late]
End of autumn. The air was clear‚ and the leaves of the roadside trees were quietly dancing.
On her way home from work‚ Saya noticed a call from an unfamiliar number.
“…This is his sister. There’s something I’d like to talk to you about regarding my brother.”
The news that he had passed away had arrived a few days earlier.
Saya had known nothing about his illness or that he had been told he had limited time left.
Only the memory of the day they quietly said goodbye remained in her heart.
At the café where they met‚ his sister held out a small box.
“While sorting through his belongings‚ I found his diary… I’ve been worrying for a long time whether I should give it to you.”
Saya accepted the box with trembling hands.
When she returned home‚ she opened the diary in a room with the lights dimmed.
There‚ his inner conflicts were written down.
“The doctor told me I had six months left.
At that moment‚ Saya’s face came to mind.
I didn’t want to make her cry.
But I wanted to be by her side.
I wavered many times between the two.”
“She is strong. She’ll probably be able to walk even without me.
But if my presence causes her to stop moving forward—
I should disappear from her future.”
“On the last day we met‚ she had her hand in her pocket.
Maybe not showing me the ring was her kindness toward me.
That alone was enough.”
“To Saya.
I loved you.
But if I wished for your happiness‚ I had no choice but to exit from your story.
Please keep smiling with someone.
Because it would be too sad if your tears became my final wish.”
With every page she turned‚ tears flowed down Saya’s cheeks.
The farewell he had chosen was a form of love.
It was a silence meant to protect her.
The next day‚ Saya went to the seaside observatory.
She gently removed the ring‚ placed it in her palm‚ and looked up at the sky.
“…Thank you.
Because you were there‚ I was able to walk.
Even without you‚ I will keep walking.
But the fact that you existed will always be my light.”
The wind blew.
The ring returned to her finger and quietly sparkled in the light.
Special Chapter: [Chasing Brother’s Shadow (Sister’s Perspective)]
An autumn afternoon‚ as the sun began to set.
She—Haruka‚ his younger sister—was opening the closet at their family home.
It had not even been a month since her brother passed away.
It felt a little early to sort through his belongings.
But the air in the room still carried his presence‚ and she couldn’t move forward.
Inside an old box‚ there was a diary.
A black leather cover. She immediately knew it was her brother’s.
As she turned the pages‚ his anguish was written there.
Haruka stopped turning the pages.
She knew her brother had been dating a woman named Saya.
But she had never been told the reason for their breakup.
She only remembered that after that‚ her brother never dated anyone else.
Haruka couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.
Her brother had been suffering alone‚ without telling anyone.
And he had quietly stepped back‚ wishing only for the happiness of the person he loved.
After closing the diary‚ Haruka agonized for a while.
Should she tell Saya this truth?
She was already living a different life.
Digging up the past might hurt her.
But she felt that her brother’s feelings wanted to reach someone.
It was her intuition as his sister.
A few days later‚ Haruka went to meet Saya.
A quiet afternoon at a café near the station.
“I’d like to talk to you about my brother.”
Saying that‚ she handed over the diary.
Saya accepted it without saying a word.
And with every page she turned‚ tears quietly flowed down her cheeks.
“…So that’s how it was.”
Saya’s voice was trembling.
“I always thought he had left me behind.
But he… was protecting me.”
Haruka nodded gently.
“My brother wished only for your happiness until the very end.”
At those words‚ Saya smiled.
There was clear gratitude within her tears.
“Thank you.
I was able to properly receive his feelings.”
That day‚ Haruka felt she had caught a glimpse of her brother’s shadow.
In the depths of Saya’s eyes‚ the light her brother had left behind was quietly flickering.
Special Chapter: [Prayer at the Grave (Saya’s Perspective)]
A clear autumn afternoon.
Saya walked up the slope of the cemetery‚ holding a small bouquet.
The wind was gentle‚ and the leaves of the trees rustled softly.
His grave was on top of the hill‚ quietly standing as if overlooking the town.
Standing in front of the grave‚ Saya gently placed the flowers.
Then‚ after taking a deep breath‚ she began to speak softly.
“…I’m sorry for coming so late.”
“When I heard you were gone‚ honestly‚ I couldn’t feel anything.
I just felt empty.”
She took out a copy of the diary from her pocket.
The last words from him that she had received from his sister.
Every time she reread them‚ her chest tightened.
“You were worrying and suffering so much‚
and yet you were only thinking about my happiness—
Why didn’t you tell me?”
The wind swayed her hair.
The sky was high‚ and the clouds drifted slowly.
“But now I understand.
The silence you chose was a gift for my future.
Even after you were gone‚ I was able to walk properly.
I became able to smile with someone.
That’s because you pushed me forward.”
Saya touched the ring.
It was not the one he had given her.
But it was a symbol of the “strength to walk” he had left behind.
“Thank you.
I will never forget that you existed.
The farewell you chose‚ and your love—everything remains inside me.”
She gently closed her eyes.
And quietly prayed.
“Please rest in peace.
May your weekends be wrapped in gentle light.”
The wind blew.
It gently stroked her cheek‚ like his reply.
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